Doorstop



Nov. 19, 1963 T. A. SPENCER DOORSTOP 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 26, 1962 FIG. I

INVENTOR. THOMAS A. SPENCER BY r ATTORNEY Nov. 19, 1963 1-. A. SPENCER DOORSTOP 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1962 FIGZ INVENTOR.

THOMAS A-SPENCER ATTORNEY Nov. 19, 1963 1-. A. SPENCER DQORSTOP 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 26, 1962 9 w in in o m mm mm a w m ow mm w p a 8 N. \II Q n\ IJ g Q Iv 1 om v ow NW INVENTOR.

THO MAS A SPENCER ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,1113% DOQRSTGP Thomas A. Spencer, 337 Manhattan Ava, Daytona Beach, Fla. Filed Feb. 26, 1962, Ser- No. 175,752 6 Gaims. (Cl. 292-22?) This invention is in hardware, and, more particularly, is a novel doorstop by means of which a door may readily be held in any desired position.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a doorstop for a flush door of substantially conventional construction with substantially conventional knobs and latching mechanism wherein means operable by either the inside or the outside knob actuate and release the stop.

Another object of the invention is to provide a doorstop of the broad nature mentioned which is virtually concealed when installed and in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a doorstop which is simple and positive to actuate and to release.

Additional objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a flush or hollow door of conventional construction with my invention applied thereto, a portion of the outside face of the door being broken away to illustrate the general organization of parts;

,FIGURE 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 3, showing a portion of a door with knobs and latch mechanism applied thereto, and showing also the modification necessary to the mechanism according to the preferred mode of practicing my invention;

FIGURE 3 is an elevation of a portion of a door, including the latch mechanism, and further illustrates the modification above mentioned;

FIGURE 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of FiGURE 2;

FiGURE 5 is a section taken on line 55 of FIG- URE 4, certain of the parts being omitted;

FIGURE 6 is a section taken through the receptacle which houses many of the elements of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a section taken on the line 7--7 of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a section taken on the line 88 of FIGURE 6.

My internal door stop is most readily adaptable to the common hollow or flush-type door, this being essentially a hollow box of veneer with an internal peripheral frame and a suitable number of internal supporting ribs, and it is to this type of door that reference will hereinafter be made.

Considering now the drawings, the door 19 may be seen to include a peripheral frame 11, an edge surface 12 with which the knob and latch mechanism cooperates, and a bottom edge surface 13. The internal ribbing or webbing is not shown.

Let into the bottom of door 10, near the front edge 12, may be a rectangular receptacle 15 (see FIGURE 1) which extends upwardly into the door, the receptacle having two laterally extending lips or extensions 16 and 17. The receptacle is held in the door by means of wood screws 19 and 20, which pass through extensions 16 and 17, respectively, and into the bottom edge surface 13 of the door.

Extending upwardly substantially vertically from receptacle 15 (FIGURE 1) may be seen a wire 25, which may be in the nature of picture wire. The upper termination of the wire will be seen to be at the door knob structure. This will be described in more detail below.

The mechanism housed within receptacle 15 may be 3,lll,34b Patented Nov. 19, 1963 seen (in FIGURES 6, 7, and 8) to comprise a main lever 39, secured, as by welding, to a sleeve 31, which is in turn mounted for rotation on a pin 32, secured in any convenient fashion in the opposite longitudinal walls 33, 34, of the receptacle.

The location of the fulcrum 32 along the lever 30 is not critical, but preferably is such that the lever arms are in a ratio of about 1:2; so that, in other words, an upward movement of the left end of the lever (FIG- URE 6) of a certain magnitude will produce a downward movement of the right end of the lever of about twice that magnitude.

Depending from the right end of main lever 30 (still referring to FIGURE 6) is a post-like member 40. This construction may take many forms. As shown, a stud 35 is employed, and this passes downwardly through the right end of the main lever. This is threaded, and member 40, which may be of any convenient material, as metal, is screwed thereon. To the lower extremity of member 4t? is secured a foot 41, of rubber or similar material. Member 4i? and foot 41=areof such dimensions as to assure that the bottom extremity of foot 41 is approximately flush with the bottom edge 13 of the door when the stop is in an unoperated condition. Surrounding member 49 may be seen a spring 43 which bears at its upper end against the under surface of lever 30 and, at its lower, against a plate 44 which, in the preferred embodiment, is a tab on the sheet metal blank out of which the receptacle is formed, and which is bent or folded into the horizontal position shown. The receptacle is closed by a bedplate 45 which, as shown, covers wood screws 19 and 2t and is itself secured by machine screws 46 and 47. Plate 44 and bedplate 45 are pro- 'vided with matching openings through which post 40 and foot 41 may readily pass, and, since movement of these last-mentioned members is not exactly vertical, the openings are elongated.

Also depending from lever 30, adjacent its fulcrum, and secured thereto and, preferably, also to sleeve 31, as by Welding, is a rib or bracket 50 which, at its lower extremity, is hinged, at 51, to a subsidiary lever 52. A post or guide 53 is secured in any convenient fashion adjacent the left end (FIGURE 6) of lever 5-2 and extends upwardly, passing through an opening in lever 3% the opening being of a size to permit the post to move freely therein.

Surrounding post 53, and bearing against lever 30 and against lever 52 is a spring 55, the function of which will become more apparent hereinafter.

Limiting downward movement of subsidiary lever 52 is a locking sleeve 56, secured by a set screw 57 to the wire 25.

The door knob structure is not shown in complete detail. Many, if not all, conventional constructions are usable.

In FIGURE 2, there will be seen an inner doorknob 7i? and an outer knob 71, and secured thereto and operated thereby in known fashion is a square shaft 72 which passes through a matching opening in a latch plunger casing 73, whereby rotation of either knob in either direction retracts latch 74.

Two posts 89 and 81 are shown in FIGURES 2, 3, and 4. These extend from faceplate 89 nearly to the opposite face plate. They are internally threaded, and cooperate with screws 82 and 83, respectively, to hold the knobs in proper relation with each other, with the remainder of the latch mechanism, and with the door.

Secured to knob 71, but also keyed to square shaft 72 so as to be responsive to knob as well, is a disc-like member 84 located adjacent to the inner surface of faceplate 89. This disc-like member is provided with two lugs or protrusions 85 and 86. These, in a conventional structure, as herein, limit the rotational movement of the doorknobs by striking against the posts 80 and 81. In FIGURE 4 also may be seen the end portions 87 and 88 of a spring (not otherwise shown); these are hooked around posts 8%} and 81, respectively, and cooperate therewith and with adjacent mechanism (not shown) to return the knob to the center position after it has been turned.

The protrusions 9t), 91, 92, and 93 shown in FIGURE 4 cooperate with the lugs 85' and 86 to provide a detent feature. As shown in FIGURE 5, the height of each protrusion is sufiicient to provide for some interference with the lug involved, and after the :knob rotation forces two lugs past two protrusions, the interference involved holds the mechanism in the operated position until restored manually by turning the door knob.

FIGURE shows such an interference, which in this case exists between lug 85 and protrusion 93. This is just one-half of the full interference, which involves also lug 86 and protrusion 93 (the latter not being shown in the figure for fear of confusing the same). If the knob were turned in the other direction, protrusions 92 and 91 would be involved with lugs 85 and 36, respectively.

The upper end of wire 25 is secured by a screw 95 to that portion of square shaft 72 which is lowermost when the knobs are in unoperated condition. The arrangement is such that rotation of either knob in either direction to its limit will lift wire 25 about one-half inch, the exact amount, of course, depending on the length of screw 95.

It should perhaps be mentioned that flush doors conventionally are provided with two lock blocks, so called, one adjacent each vertical edge of the door. These are of solid wood, or thick plywood, and are intended to reinforce the door at the point of mounting a knob, lock, and latch assembly. While two blocks are normally supplied, to permit a door to be latched at either side, only one of these blocks, 1%, is shown in the drawings, as the other does not enter into the invention in any way.

To describe the operation of the invention, assuming a door modified in accordance with the foregoing description is closed, it may be unlatched by giving either knob a slight turn in either direction (with most doors, the unlatching occurs when a knob is turned less than 45, whereas rotation normally is permissible to about 85); rotational force on the knob is then released; the door is swung open to the desired position; and thedoor knob is then turned in either direction to its limit. This last action causes the rubber tip 41 of the foot assembly 46 to make firm contact with the floor, and the detent feature described above, comprising interference between lugs 85 and 86 and protrusions 9t 93, together with a spring 55 (the action of which will be further described), holds the foot assembly firmly in contact with the floor, and prevents wind from slamming or moving the door.

The force for the operation of the foot assembly is transmitted by wire 25 (which preferably is flexible, such as picture wire). The movement of the wire can be divided into two parts: (1) the movement needed to cause the rubber tip 41 to touch the floor, and (2) the movement occurring after the floor has been touched. In the first part of the wire movement, spring 55 is barely compressed at all whereas spring 43 is considerably compressed the amount depending upon the original clearance between the rubber tip 41 and the floor at the point at which the door is to be held. In the second part of the wire movement, spring 55 is compressed, but spring 43 is insignificantly affected since the rubber tip 41 is already in contact with the fioor.

The compression of spring 55 stores up the force applied to wire 25 by the turning of the knob. In order to prevent dislocation of the door by wind, or otherwise, spring 55 must be relatively strong, but since spring 43 is used only for subsequently restoring parts to their normal locations, the latter spring can be much weaker. As a matter of fact, spring 43 must be much weaker than spring 55 as the former operates in opposition to the latter and, if too strong, would negate the effect of spring 55. In addition to storing up the force transmitted by the wire 25, a spring such as spring 55 is needed as a part of the mechanism transmitting the pull of the wire since the knob detent position is fixed rather than variable and the clearance between door bottom and floor will vary considerably.

The small amount of knob rotation necessary to unlatch a door will result in only a minor movement of the door stop foot assembly 4tl41. This is because the initial movement of the screw 5, attached to the top end of the wire 25, is essentially horizontal, and the vertical component of this rotation becomes more pronounced only as the knob approaches its limit of rotation.

As described above, final rotation of either knob, before lugs 85 and 36 strike against posts and 81, forces these lugs over and past two of the protrusions 90-93 which then hold all the parts against retrograde movement. When release of the door is intended, one of the knobs must be turned far enough toward its center position to force the lugs and 86 past their cooperating protrusions. Whether or not the knob is turned further is immaterial; for spring 87-88 will cause the knob to find its center position.

The foregoing is in specific terms, and many modifications will suggest themselves. For the true scope of the invention, therefore, reference should be had to the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a door stop, a main lever normally spring held in substantially horizontal position, a pivot for said lever, said pivot being located approximately one third of the length of said lever from one end thereof thereby to provide a long end and a short end for said lever, a downwardly extending toot adjacent the extremity of said long end of said lever, and means for lifting said short end of said lever including a lifting member and a spring efiectivcly compressed between said member and the said short end of said lever.

2. The combination of a door, a latch for said door, a door stop for said door having an inactive position and an active position in which a portion thereof is pressed against a floor effectively preventing movement of said door, a knob having a normal center position and a maximum rotatability of approximately 85 therefrom, said knob being operable to release said latch when turning not substantially more than 45, and means cooperating with said knob for moving said door stop into its said active position and so retaining the same when said knob is rotated to substantially its maximum.

3. The combination with a door having a lower edge of a door stop comprising a lever positioned near said lower edge of said door, said lever having a normal substantially horizontal position, a pivot for said lever whereby one end of said lever may be moved toward a floor beneath said lower edge of said door, a foot secured beneath said one end, a restoring spring compressed as said one end is moved as aforesaid, a subsidiary lever adjacent the other end of said lever pivoted beneath the same in spaced relation thereto, a compression spring interposed bet-ween said other end of said first mentioned lever and said subsidiary lever, and means such as wire secured to said subsidiary lever for moving the same upwardly to operate the door stop.

4. A door stop including a housing, a lever pivoted in said housing, said lever having a normal substantially horizontal position, a foot depending from one end of said lever, a bracket depending from said lever adjacent but spaced from the other end thereof, a subsidiary lever pivoted to said bracket and extending toward said other end of said first mentioned lever, and a spring interposed between said subsidiary lever and said other end of said first mentioned lever.

5. The subcombination of a door knob, a shaft turnable by said knob, said knob and said shaft having a normal rest position and another position of maximum rotational displacement, means for securing a stop-operating wire to that portion of said shaft which is substantially lowermost when said shaft is in its said rest position, means operable to restore said knob and said shaft to said rest position after displacement therefrom, and detent means for preventing operation of said restoring means when said knob and said shaft are in their said position of maximum displacement, said detent means including a lug rotatable by said knob and a surface extending slightly into the path of said lug whereby said lug may be forced beyond said surface as said knob approaches its position of maximum displacement.

6. The invention of claim 5, wherein said detent means includes a lug rotatable by said knob and extending radially from said shaft and a surface extending slightly into the path of said lug whereby said lug may be forced beyond said surface as said knob approaches its position of maximum displacement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

4. A DOOR STOP INCLUDING A HOUSING, A LEVER PIVOTED IN SAID HOUSING, SAID LEVER HAVING A NORMAL SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION, A FOOT DEPENDING FROM ONE END OF SAID LEVER, A BRACKET DEPENDING FROM SAID LEVER ADJACENT BUT SPACED FROM THE OTHER END THEREOF, A SUBSIDIARY LEVER PIVOTED TO SAID BRACKET AND EXTENDING TOWARD SAID OTHER END OF SAID FIRST MENTIONED LEVER, AND A SPRING INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID SUBSIDIARY LEVER AND SAID OTHER END OF SAID FIRST MENTIONED LEVER. 